Apparatus for testing oils for gum, varnish, sludge, and corrosion



Feb; 23, 1954 J COLE AL 2,669,865

APPARATUS FOR TESTING OILS FOR GUM, VARNISH, SLUDGE, AND CORROSION Filed Jan. 26, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 23, 1954 J. COLE ET AL 2,669,865

APPARATUS FOR TESTING OILS FOR GUM, VARNI SH, SLUDGE, AND CORROSION Filed Jan. 26. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .6 -2 ii? I Patented Feb. 23, 1954 7 APPARATUS FOR TE STING OILS-FOR-GUM,

VARNISH; SLUDGE, GOBLROSION Joseph-(101e,.WhitinsHInd and John Krawetz,

Evans'ton, Ill.

Application January 26, 1950; SerialNo: 1405726 4 Claims.

Our invention relates-tea laboratoryapparatus for the evalnationof gum, :varnish and. such constituents present in-or formed in lubricating oils, motor fuels, burning oils, fuel oils, work oils, transformer oils, turbine: oils and: the like, when: subjected to prescribedzconditions of tests. These tests are accelerated tests based on conditions to which the aforementioned materials are subjected in actual use, suchas in an enginecrank case. The laboratory; apparatus is also used to determine the corrosive action of the aforementioned materials when subjected to accelerated tests based on conditions under whichsaid materials are exposed toin use, with special reference to the effect ofhigh. sulphur motor-fuels. Further, theapparatus can be employed in conducting accelerated. tests to determine the rustprevention properties afforded by both temporary and permanent coating materials.

Our invention will be best understood from the; appendeddrawings forming a part ofv thisspecification and illustrating a-preferred embodiment of our invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a more or less schematic arrangement illustrating a preferred form of our pparatus;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the heater and associated. parts shown in Fig. 1.;

Fig. '3. istan enlarged fragmentary view of certain'parts of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along theline 44-0Fig.'2

Fig. 5isea sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of our invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along'the line B-6'=of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a test specimen plate and receptacle for the same, forming a part of our invention;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the same with cover removed;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 9--9 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view showing portions of a specimen holder and support constituting a feature of one embodiment of our invention.

Referring first to Figs. 1-4, the numeral ll] represents a heater in the nature of a muflle furnace, which is preferably electrically heated. Referring to Fig. 2, the heater I0 comprises a cylindrical body l2 with end closures l3 mounted on a suitable frame l5 and having a tubular element 16 therein surrounded by a heating coil l8, insube mounted .on thedurnacevfor visually. indicating :the .temperaturetherein.

Within the-tubuiarielement. It We provide an inner tubeiz'zpf glassmnnther suitable-material,

. such as a. metal, withiniwhibhl may 'be disn ed a removabletest specimen: eithercharacter he in- .afterzdescribed. 1

It will be obvious. ofioourse that the;;fu rnace may be provided with achamberriotpany desired shape other thancylind-rioaglz ,t, at n -lieurof the tubularnelement Mina. mom (oft any .Other desired shapeimayibeipmvided.

:A thermostatic;controhleadfis, em-beddedrin the furnace insulation-as :close; as ,pessible to the heating element to: deereaseritemneratul w as .mea-sured by thermocouple? leads. mounted: at

point 25.

.Removablywdisposablmwithin thewtube 22- is a. conduit: 28 for liquidrtor betestexigtormedof-ie or a suitable metal. The. ,conduit;?-8;-isremovably connected .inxa piping: systems: fed-1 by a; motor :drivenpump t! (Fig. ,1-)=... films-pump may.- have an adjustable; speed o. thatttheraraterof. 'flQWrOf oil :within the system'maywxbetcontrol'led;. Obviously, the slope:cfielementa22. and}?r ll be such that theztested liquidwillsfiowiby glla vityiin arthin film, and xthe zangl'e of slmies.--shown: in Fig; .2* is merely-suggestiveaor.illustratiue:. r

- We contemplate 1 that itamay insome instances bedesiredtorun tests mamontrolledatm ph andthereforeemeansiisa provided suchtas fa conduit as and; valve fifipwherebyrainor an inert gas :such as: nitrogen, eta, or. a. contaminated .gas or atmosphere may be introduced into the system. A bleeder valve 38 may be provided in the system for withdrawing air or any gas.

When it is desired to make a test run, the section 28 is, of course, weighed and if desired air or an inert gas is passed through the system under prescribed conditions of temperature, contamination, etc. A measured specimen of oil to be tested is then introduced into the system to conduit 35 and may be recirculated through the outlet valve 38, the recirculation being continued for the desired length of time and at the desired temperature. At the conclusion of the circulation, the tube 28 is removed and the deposited material may be weighed and subjected to any desired test.

In the arrangement shown vide within the tube 28',

in Figs. 5-9. we prowhich may be round in cross section, a specially devised specimen receptacle 40. This holder consists of a rectangular shallow tray formed of metal, glass or other suitable material and having a bottom wall 4| which may be slightly dished, as seen in Fig. 9, and upstanding side walls 42 continuous with a rear wall 43, the front being open. The receptacle is' providedwith a cover 45 which is of shallow channel formation, the legs thereof resting on the bottom of the trough 40.

Arranged within the trough is a specimen holder 48. This holder is so designed as to eliminate the possibility of creeping of the liquid which flows over it in a thin film. The member 48 may be formed of any metal, such as steel, copper, lead, aluminum or alloys of these or other metals, and is preferably formed of sheet metal having a thickness of about .01 inch. As seen best in Fig. 9, the specimen holder 48 is slightly dished, being bent at the center to the extent of about 5 degrees, in orderto prevent creeping. The holder 48, furthermore, may be so arranged that it will contact the bottom of the trough 40 as little as possible, and to this end it is provided with legs till at the corners thereof, formed by.

bending downwardly the edges of the plate, as seen best in Fig. 10. Thus, the warm gaseous atmosphere may circulate fully around the plate.

According. to this arrangement the oil to be tested is introduced into the chamber 28 by means of a conduit 52, th parts being arranged so that the liquid falls directly onto the specimen holder 48. Obviously, the tube 28 and the parts carried thereby will be given a slight fordeposited on plate 1 ward and downward slope so that the oil will flow in a thin film at the desired rate of speed down the plate 48. Thus, in the course of travel of the oil or other liquid, the constituents which it is desired to precipitate for test purposes will be 48. The oil flows off specimen plate into trough 40, escaping therefrom and from the tube 28' through conduit 55 and into a receptacle 60 from which it is recirculated. Ob-

viously, if an inert gas is employed or the air flow is controlled, the receptacle 60, instead of being open to the atmosphere, will make a gas-tight connection with escape conduit 55.

It will be understood, of course, that the pump is so selected and calibrated that it will circulate the oil or other material to be tested at the desired rate of speed. In the testing of oils, a

measuring pump having a capacity of 25 to 250 milliliters per hour is considered satisfactory.

It will be understood, furthermore, that while our apparatus is especially suitable for the testing of lubricating'oils, fuel oils, burning oils, motor fuels, work oils such as transformer and turbody, heating 4 bine oils, it may be useful for various other purposes.

Various changes coming within the spirit of our invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example, if desired to run a number of tests simultaneously, the apparatus described above may comprise a battery of testing units of the character shown. Hence, we do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of our invention being limited only by the appended claims.

We claim:

'1. In a laboratory apparatus for the evaluation of constituents of oils under test, a furnace body, an inclined conduit through which 011 under test is adapted to be passed extending through said coils surrounding said conduit, a specimen holder container in said conduit, and a specimen holder in said container, said specimen holder comprising a relatively thin, elongated, dished plate deformed to provide a supporting surface of relatively small contact area whereby said plate may be positioned above its supporting surface to permit air circulation thereabout.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said container comprises a relatively shallow conduit having a lid fitting snugly therein and adapted to overlie the specimen holder except for an opening permitting deposit on the holder of liquid to be tested.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, said plate being bent substantially along its longitudinal center line at a slight angle, whereby a thin film will be formed by liquid flowing thereon but creeping up the sides of the plates will be inhibited.

4. In laboratory apparatus of the class described, a furnace having a passage extending therethrough, means for controlling the heat of said furnace, a removable conduit in said passage normally disposed at a slight slope and serving as a surface for deposit of a film of constituents of liquid flowed by gravity through said passage, and means for recirculating liquid undergoing test through said conduit at a predetermined rate.

JOSEPH COLE. JOHN KRAWETZ.

Name Date Dreher Aug. 14, 1945 Number 

